The imminent layoffs at Time Inc. are expected to cut close to 500 people, or about 6 percent of the work force, reliable sources tell Media Ink.

One source said the target date for an announcement is now Feb. 4 — although it could be sped up now that news of the cuts is beginning to leak.

The company had pink-slipped about 500 from its 8,000-person work force about a year ago.

The exact employment numbers at the nation’s largest magazine publisher could not be determined at presstime — but after the 2013 cuts, the total number has slowly inched up again, especially after it acquired the American Express Publishing Company.

Time Inc. has also added people in the mobile and digital side of editorial operations at its Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune titles.

The prospect of imminent layoffs in both the business and editorial side was confirmed some weeks ago by Time Inc. Chief Content Officer Norm Pearlstine at the company’s quarterly management meeting.

CEO Joe Ripp is trying to re-engineer Time Inc. in preparation for its pending spinoff into an independent company.

Time Warner is still hoping the initial public offering gets done in the second quarter.

Time Inc. and Time Warner declined to comment on the layoff speculation.